Tim Almond

A bit of a local story

THE streets around Nationwide’s headquarters are being used as an overspill car park. And residents say that the building society’s employees who park outside their homes are making their lives a misery.

Each morning dozens of cars line the streets of Riverdale Close, Tismeads Crescent, Glenwood Close and Croft Road because Nationwide’s car parks in Pipers Way are full to bursting.

We’re just outside of those streets and we’re getting the same problem, albeit not quite as badly.

There is a solution, and one that also saves the council money and helps the environment: close down the park and ride nearby and let Nationwide use the parking.

Here’s an aerial Google Map to illustrate my idea:-

The Park and Ride is less than half full, whilst the Nationwide parking is full. But Nationwide already has an allocation of 100 spaces. Take out some of those, and how many are left?

Almost nobody is using the Park and Ride. It could be used for Nationwide staff to park in, taking away a problem with street parking. At the same time, closing the Park and Ride would be good for the environment and save the council money because taking away buses carrying 4 or 5 passengers is hardly environmentally friendly, and costs more than simply letting those people park in town.

Tags: Politics, Swindon //